FNG wrote:AbeVigodaLive wrote:I think it's pretty clear what most NBA players think about Rudy Gobert's skills on offense. But if you needed any further proof...
https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1640750774572691456?s=20
LOL
Ha, gotta admit my take was about the same...no, no, no, YES! It seems to me that 95% percent of his shots are at the rim, but basketball reference says it is only 78%. Doesn't match my eye test.
Rudy is effective out there simply because he is generally the biggest guy on the court, and he knows his limitations. It ain't pretty, but his 68 TS% tells me he is indeed effective.
I was listening to the Dunc'd On podcast guys the other day, and they pointed out the average TS% of centers this year is something like 64%, while the average TS% of everybody else is like 57%.
A couple takeaways.
First, that does indicate Rudy is an efficient scorer, even compared to other centers, who are on the whole more efficient than most other positions.
Second, that does indicate that teams should probably all try to get more shots for their centers than they already do, at least within reason.
BUT, I do think that "within reason" is important to keep in mind. Few of these centers can create shots for themselves, and a decent number still in this day and age have limited range. You have to manufacture those shots as a team, and that can lead to turnovers, as we've seen this year.
A good lob to an open Rudy is the ideal shot. It's basically a guaranteed 2 points. But there have been problems getting that shot this year.
One has been guys missing the possibility of the lob when the pass is there. They're not used to looking for it or throwing it, so they just don't pull the trigger.
Another, related, issue has been when guys try to force that lob when Rudy's not open or the defense is ready because they telegraph the pass a bit. When Conley got to Utah, it took him a while to get used to throwing that pass to Rudy, and he's a distributing PG, so it's not necessarily easy to pull off and it is a skill guys can learn. I haven't checked the stats, but I bet SloMo has actually been more successful at that this year than even Conley since he arrived, which is a bit odd.
Finally, weirdly, it doesn't seem like we're running the kind of obvious plays to set up the lob to Rudy. Part of that is the lack of pick-n-roll in the offense, which we've discussed, and which still doesn't make sense to me. Whenever KAT and Ant are out, and Conley and Rudy are in, why not run the pick-n-roll with them? I just don't get it. But there have to be other ways to potentially get that lob open, right? I'm not a coach, but couldn't we try to set a double pick first on the ball handler's defender and then right afterward on Rudy's defender so the ball handler drives into midrange just as Rudy cuts to the rim and looks for the lob?
Beyond the lob pass, I do get sometimes throwing it to Rudy in the post if he gets a good seal, but other times it looks like we're just fishing for a foul because he really is a very stiff finisher. At times, that might make sense, but it has felt like we've gone to that more than we really should, especially when KAT and Ant are back. And other times, Rudy really needs to just recognize his limitations. He should not shoot that little push shot outside 4-6 feed or that fadeaway from anywhere. If he is cutting or rolling to the basket and
we have a safe pass[/I], then we should definitely do it. He's actually been a surprisingly decent finisher when catching the ball while taking a couple steps toward the basket, but it always looks like he's going to really clank it off the backboard (which sometimes he does). But too often, it feels like guys try forcing him the ball when he's not really ready or open enough to catch it. He does just have terrible hands and our passers need to be smarter about when they give it to him and softer and craftier with how and where they give it to him. Nowell (I think it was) had a really nice bounce pass to him the other day that was perfect, actually.
So yes, overall, I do think Rudy is an efficient scorer, and there are ways that we can and probably should unlock his efficiency even more by doing a better job of manufacturing lobs, as well as good, safe passes to him rolling to the basket, and maybe post seals at times. But we have have to be more discerning about when and how we use him offensively and he needs to be more discerning about some of the shots he takes. We have made some steps, and I like how he's shown good judgment and thrown the ball out to shooters at times from the post. But we can definitely be better in this area.